PE-backed Zeeland firm acquires stair parts maker

BY MiBiz Staff
Tuesday, November 06, 2018 10:08am

ZEELAND — Novo Building Products has acquired L.J. Smith Inc., a 133-year-old producer of parts for stairs that’s based in Bowerston, Ohio.

Terms of the deal were undisclosed. The Zeeland-based Novo Building Products supplies molding, stair parts, doors and specialty millwork to lumber yards, home centers and stair builders located east of the Rockies in the U.S. and Canada.

“This is a highly strategic add-on for Novo. L.J. Smith has long been considered the preeminent stair parts business in the industry,” CEO Tom Highley said in a statement. “The company offers our customers stair part manufacturing and distribution capabilities on a national scale and supports our vision of becoming the leading millwork supplier in North America.”

Novo Building Products, founded in 2016, is owned by an affiliate of Blue Wolf Capital Fund III L.P., a fund of New York City-based private equity firm Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC.